A PROLIFIC pan-European network of Romanian and Albania burglars who deployed hundreds of young “foot-soldiers” to ransack properties on a nightly basis has been smashed by police.

ARRESTS: France's Gendarmerie police force raided the gang after a long investigation [ALAMY]

The gang’s empire was today described by European police chiefs as “vast and sprawling” as officers celebrated the capture of its two suspected ringleaders, one Romanian and one Albanian.

The mafia mob was based in Paris where gendarmes arrested 15 people and found £42,000 in cash in various houses and the private room of a city bar.

Europol, the cross-Europe police intelligence agency and likened to America’s FBI, said the gang preyed on Paris and nearby cities, but smuggled their stolen goods to Albanian comrades throughout the continent using stolen cars and fake documents.

Numbering 280 young men, the network was divided into three groups which would base themselves near motorway exits at night before sending their criminals out to “work”.

In recent months, around 30 young ‘foot-soldiers’ were arrested red-handed

Eurpol

A Europol spokesman said: “French law enforcement authorities, working with Europol, have dismantled a Paris-based network of prolific burglars and arrested 15 individuals.

“Two of those arrested – an Albanian and a Romanian – are suspected of being the criminal network ringleaders.

“The lengthy investigation started in December 2012 following the arrest of an Albanian citizen who committed a burglary in Reims.

“Subsequent inquiries revealed a vast and sprawling network of criminals, mainly from Albania, who were recruited by the two main suspects to commit burglaries within a 125-mile radius of Paris.

“The network, composed of around 280 young suspects, was divided into three-member burglary teams who were methodically dispatched in the evenings or at night to cities located close to motorway exits.

“In recent months, around 30 young ‘foot-soldiers’ were arrested red-handed with stolen jewellery, electronics and cameras in the suburbs of Paris.

“Intelligence suggests that the receivers of the stolen goods may be Albanian-speaking owners of legal businesses residing in other European capitals.